Much larger gabions were used in some civil engineering projects after the war. In Galveston the Corps of Engineers undertook a major harbor improvement project by constructing and sinking enormous gabions, 6 to 8 feet high and 10 to 12 feet in diameter, filled with stones and concrete, to help narrow the tidal flow in and out of the bay to keep a deep-water channel open. It turned out not to work very well, but it was an ambitious and innovative undertaking regardless.

No joke, I have long planned to give a gabion talk this weekend at the Image of War Seminar’s visit to Yorktown. Photos are printed and all! The video at least helped me question my pronunciation of “gabion.”

For the Civil War buffs among us, it’s really worth spending some time over at Kevin Levin’s blog, Civil War Memory. I can’t act like I discovered the place–some readers brought it to my attention. But it’s a great blog dealing in exactly what its title claims.